Advent - Peace
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Turn with me to Isaiah 9:6-7.
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
In 11 days we gather in our own home and in the homes of others and we will celebrate Christmas. Each family will wake up with different expectations and traditions. Some homes will be filled with cheer and merry making and other will be cold and lonely. The day of Christmas means so many different things to different people.
It is easy to be swept away into the gifts, the parties, the food. Even the people and each other. Instead of celebrating Jesus, many will just celebrate. Advent is a time to focus our worship from the things of the world to the one who it was all created for, through the one who it was made, and who sustains it all by his powerful word.
For a child will be born… the child of prophesy. The one who brought hope and joy. True hope in the promise of eternal life. That this life is not all that there is and true joy that rejoices in the great blessing of salvation.
This child will be given to his people. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Each of these titles are wonders by themselves, that this newborn child is all of these and more. It is no wonder many in Isreal looked for someone, anyone other than who this little child would become. In their mind this man would never look like Jesus.
These titles would bring about a picture of a Wise Elder guiding and directing the people. A might warrior God that would conquer all before him. A patriarchal leader who’s reign would never end. He would be a king but not just any king he would be named the Prince of Peace.
These are names that are foretold to be put on this child. And when we read them along with the next verse we can understand why Isreal was waiting for a conquering king.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
How does a king typically establish his dominion? How does he set the boundaries of his land? How? Usually by war. He establishes his throne over his kingdom and the idea is that once there is only one king who has subject all others under their control then and only then can their be peace. This is what the Jews believed and still believe.
When we look out into the landscape of the world at the 100 plus armed conflicts with 11 classified as wars. We might ask, when will he get this name. When will he be called the Prince of Peace for at no time in the history of the world has there actually been Peace.
He was born, he lived, he died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven and we wait again for his return. Did he forget to take over the world while he was here?
How can the angel proclaim peace on earth.
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
We can see in the gospels that this type of king is what they were looking for and waiting for.
15 Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
They were ready to set him up as king right then and there. Isn’t this what God said he would do?
11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away.
But as his ministry went forward they started to have doubts. It this the time?
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
They started to ask if he was the one of the prophesy?
2 Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples 3 and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Then it seemed like it was all over. Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross. With a sign that read king of the Jews. Then they would watch him breath his last.
21 But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.
Their hope was shattered the greatly anticipated earthly kingdom must wait for another to come. The issue is they were not listening. They were not hearing the Lord. He was king of a different type of kingdom.
36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
If we turn back to Isaiah we will find that the Prince of Peace will not establish his kingdom with warriors and chariots But with Justice and Righteousness.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
The Kingdom of Peace Established and Sustained
The Kingdom of Peace Established and Sustained
The conflict that is being resolved isn’t one of land, ideologies, and people but one of the soul. It is a kingdom build upon the justice and righteousness of God.
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. 20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
The sin of man cannot be at peace with God.
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions.
The fallen man is hostile and alienated, separated from God. The expression of this hostility to God is the evidence of your evil actions. The path of peace has never been known by any unregenerate man.
7 The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so.
For any person that does not submit to the laws of a king is found to an enemy to the king. The Law is what the king decrees as right and establishes the justice of the nation. All mankind is excluded from the kingdom of God by his own proof that he is an enemy to God. A king must uphold his law and so those in his kingdom must be righteous in it. But man could not do this on his own, so a child was born to die so that his righteousness may be credited to the enemies account and their transgressions paid for by his ransom.
10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
The only way to be reconciled to God is through the death of his son. The only way to be saved is to be saved through his life. It was through the physical life that justice and righteous can be provided as the way of peace with God.
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
There is only one way to come to be at peace with God and that is through faith in the atoning sacrifice of the son.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Each and every person who sees the amazing truth that the king of this kingdom died so that they could enter in the kingdom. No longer aliens and strangers but citizens.
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For this is how a person enters into the kingdom. Justified and righteous and peace with God.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fruit of Peace
Fruit of Peace
When we think of peace, it is common to see it only in terms of conflict but the Hebrew word Shalom which we translate as peace is more than that. It isn’t just the removal or the absence of conflict. It has this idea of completeness and wholeness. Of wellbeing and harmony with God and others. The peace of God isn’t just resolving conflict but it is a work in us a fruit in our new life.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
Before there can be any spiritual fruit a change must take place. It is our sin that keeps us from being at peace with God. From the heart comes all sorts of evil.
18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
This is the natural fruit of man who has not been changed by God. Where God has not given a new heart.
19 I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for abhorrent acts and detestable practices, I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
For there to be harmony with God thing much change. God takes out what is hard, rebellious, and without life and replaces is with that which is soft, obedient and alive. The stone is removed and the heart is flesh is given to man. The heart that is described as that deep central part of who we are and what we do. The place of our desires. God gave the Spirit to give us new desires. Desire that are aligned with the holy God.
16 I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he tells them to walk in the light and to no long walk as the gentiles do in the futility and ignorance of their minds but to.
22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
There but be a recognition that the old self has been corrupted. Corrupted by what? deceitful desires. But who is deceived by these desires. Well we are. Have you ever wondered why you want what you want. Why you can find yourself going to great lengths to do things that have great consequence. You tell yourself all the reasons you are justified but you know that you are still wrong.
We are to put of this old self and to put on the new. One that was created not according to man’s image but in God’s likeness in righteousness and purity and truth. We put on a self that we must grow into maturing in the likeness of Christ.
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
The Christian is to grow and mature with a stature that is measured by Christ’s fullness by the king’s fullness. Built off of faith and knowledge.
The truth of the work brings new knowledge to our minds and we must choose to follow it or not. We have all found out that our minds are hostile towards the things of God until his Spirit changes the mind.
6 Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.
God is doing a work in each and every believer.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The godly fruit in our lives comes from the God of peace who is sanctifying a people for himself.
Disciplining them as they grow in the righteousness that brings peace.
11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
He is growing and encouraging his church to become mature.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
For there to be peace with God we must be seeking peace with him. This means that we are growing in the ways that follow his commands and statutes. It is a life that is conforming to the will of God. It is a life that turn its affection from the seductive world that leads to unfaithfulness to God and turning to the head of the bride, Jesus, and being faithful to him as a part of his bride.
With a new heart and a transformed mind lead by the Spirit we are filled with the gratitude and will have a peace from God that we can not even explain or understand.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Lifting up prayers and petitions, requests to God with thanksgiving will result in the peace of God and guard our hearts and minds. Dwelling in the mind on the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, anything of moral excellence and praiseworthy. These are the things of the mind of that leads to peace with God while he is doing a work in us. Cleansing us and leading us.
When we have recieved God’s righteousness and and are living it out through the work of the Spirit in our lives we will then have an overflow of good that will flow out of our hearts into our homes, church, and community.
Peace During War
Peace During War
Most people are tired of conflict. Attempting to avoid conflict anyway that they can. Appeasing or compromising what is right in order to not rock the boat or stir up disorder. The reality is that I life of a believer is always at conflict with the world as it grows in peace with the God of peace and the people of peace.
The issue isn’t that people want conflict, the issue is that most do not know where that conflict comes from. What conflict is expected, and how to resolve conflict that should not be.
1 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
The ways of God will bring conflict. The prince of peace himself said.
34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
On earth there will be conflict. We are called to peace at war.
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.
There is a battle that we are to suit up for. To be trained for and to be engaged in for there is an enemy. The outcome has been set but it still rages on.
33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
The world has been conquered by Jesus himself but we will still suffer and have conflict.
When we think of our ideal way of peace. We really think of a world that complies with everything that I want. I wouldn’t have any conflict with anyone else if they just did what I want. My home would be peaceful if my kids would just obey every word that I said or if my spouse would just do everything I want to do. We tend to think of peace from our own selfish perspective.
The problem with this way of thinking is that the other people are thinking the same thing. I want what I want and they want what they want. Have you ever found anyone who just naturally wants you to have everything that you want all of the time. No. Pride and selfishness are the killers of peace. And though we will never be at peace with everyone on this side of heaven we are called to be at peace with God and with his people.
The church is called to be at peace with each other.
1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
It is something that is sown and cultivated in the life of the church.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
We are called to pursue it.
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.
We are called to seek it
10 For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, 11 and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, 12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.
Even though we may be the only one seeking it.
18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Rely on God’s to provide his peace as we rest in him.
16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We love this verse.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
We love it and we claim it. We are the peacemakers but we get it backwards so much of the time. Today we look out and we try to be at peace by conforming to the ways of the world, by being amendable, and a place where the world is comfortable. We create churches that are tailored to a specific type of people. After 2000 years of calls of unity we find what we call the church to be a disunified group of associations. Instead of a growing bride of Christ.
The issue is that the standard of what is determine to be right is not coming from God but from man. There is one righteous king and only those who have been saved by faith will be part of the kingdom of God. Where his righteousness is credited to them not by works but by faith.
The next issue is that those that have confessed Jesus as Lord and Master live in complete opposition to what he has called good and right. The evidence of their life is a life of the flesh and not of the Spirit. Their mouths still spew evil and corrupt language. Their lives look just like the Gentile living and reveling in the sins that the king died for.
The unity of the church come from the maturing of believers. We cannot grow in our own image and be unified. Only when we grow in the measure of Christ will be grow into unity and harmony.
Where we will see peace on earth amongst each other and conflict with the world.
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
We have been given everything we need to live in righteousness that lead to peace with God
19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Communion
Warning
Children, Lost, Sin
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Prayer
Song
Closing
Blessing/Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
